Debarre Wins 3rd French Championship: Thomas Debarre 6d won his third French Championship title recently in Lyon, defeating Tanguy le Calve in the final. Here’s the game.- Alain Cano

What’s The Best School for Inseis? Joy Craft wonders “what is the best school in the world for students who want to become pros?” Her son has been to a program in China and is looking into one in Korea and she’s curious what EJ readers would recommend. Email your suggestions to us at journal@usgo,org

Go and Strategy Club: Social thinker, venture investor and founder of the Russian School for Strategic Branding Efim Ostrovskiy runs the graphically striking Go and Strategy Club website, which has some interesting perspectives on the history of the game.

Berlin “Go to Innovation” Tourney: If you’re planning to be in Berlin next month, check out the 5th “Go to Innovation” tournament there, scheduled for November 16-18. The 8-round event has over 2,000 Euros in prizes.

More Than Just a Game? Saying that go is fundamentally a recreational board game like chess, the Washington State Department of Revenue Board of Tax Appeals recently denied the Seattle Go Center’s request for an exemption from local property taxes. The SGC had argued that go enhances the “functioning of individuals in society” and promoted cross-cultural understanding and tolerance, as required by state law governing such exemptions. “I guess someone who is clueless enough to think of chess as fundamentally a recreational board game is not going to appreciate the depth of Go,” said Forbes contributor Peter J Reilly in his fascinating column “Go Is More Than A Game Despite What State of Washington Thinks,” which quotes Thore Graepel, a Principal Researcher for Microsoft as saying that “Go is a great game that develops intellect and character.”